“I just feel like a new person, especially over the last six to eight months of my life. I’ve grown up a lot, and I just don’t feel a connection to that nickname anymore. I’m just going by my name.”

Why the sudden shift, announced via Internet radio?

Well, for one, it might be Spencer’s mood. Despite a third-round submission loss to Rafael Natal in his UFC debut eight months ago, he oozed optimism about his fight with Strikeforce vet Villefort, who lost to Nah-Shon Burrell in his octagon debut.

“I’m in a country I’ve never been in, my weight’s good, and I just feel really good about this fight,” Spencer said while waiting to weigh in for the event, which takes place at Mineirinho Arena in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

It could also be that he’s more prepared than before. Spencer said his training at Dallas’ Octagon MMA has completely changed since he graduated from the regional circuit, where he went 9-1, to the UFC.

He was so intent on covering every base, he hired what he calls a “professional stretcher” to limber him up once a week.

“I’ve upped the intensity a lot,” Spencer said. “I always train hard, but my coaches have been pushing me to the limit, and I know that I’ve reached another level of my game.”

Although his previous nickname wasn’t some ode to a checkered past, Spencer said he feels more connected to his moniker than perhaps other fighters. So when he walks to the octagon on Wednesday to meet Villefort, he’s going as himself, because at this moment, it’s who he feels most comfortable with.

“I just want to release that part of my life,” Spencer said. “I feel like I’ve reached a new level, and it’s time to move on. It’s time for bigger and better things. If a new nickname comes to me, I’ll go with that if I like it.

“But as far as ‘Black Magic’ goes, I’m no longer connected to that name.”

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